He stood and watched as his Lady Raiders basketball team tried to hold on in the final minute against a surging St. Mary’s.

Imac would hold on, though barely, after two last-second St. Mary’s shots refused to go down. The Lady Raiders won 43-41.

“I didn’t want to call that time out because this was a learning experience,” Jordan said. “These girls need to learn how to win late before we get into the meat of our schedule. Overall, I’m really proud of how we played today.”

The surprisingly tense finish belied what was mostly quality showing for the Lady Raiders. Imac used a dominant inside game and a well-executed 1-2-1 full-court trap defense to give St. Mary’s fits in the first half.

On the other end, everything the home team threw at the basket went down and Imac held 27-18 halftime lead.

“I was shocked at how everything went in,” Lady Raider Mary Kate Wolken said. “Our offense played well, and we were all cutting really well. This is by far the best game I’ve ever played at any level.”

Wolken led the Lady Raiders with 16 points, including nine in the Raiders 18-point second quarter.

St. Mary’s started slowly chipping away at Imac’s double-digit lead in the third quarter though. Mounting Lady Raider turnovers late allowed St. Mary’s to get the score within a hair, and set up their last-second tries, that fell short however.

The Lady Raiders, 2-1, face Doniphan West Friday at 6 p.m.

Lansing collects first win

It took longer than the team wanted, but on Tuesday night Lansing girls’ basketball experienced the sweet taste of victory.